What do Alexander the Great, Andrew Johnson, Henry Ford, and Jackie Robinson have in common?

They were among individuals "Taking a Stand in History" chosen by students from Greene and Cocke counties as topics for exhibits entered in Regional National History Day, held on Friday, Jan. 27, on the Tusculum College campus. The event was hosted by the Tusculum College Department of Museum Program and Studies, which serves as coordinator for National History Day in Northeast Tennessee.

The Regional History Day event is part of the National History Day program. That program, sponsored by the National History Day organization, encourages students to explore and learn more about history through the preparation of visual exhibits, written papers, documentaries with both texts and visuals, or plays, written and performed by the students, all based on the theme selected each year by National History Day. The theme this year is "Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas, Events."

This is the second Regional History Day hosted by the Department of Museum Program and Studies. The department's involvement in local History Day events began five years ago with its support of History Day at Mosheim School. The department's involvement in History Day includes helping coordinate the events, supplying judges to evaluate student entries, and providing training and resources for teachers so they can better help students prepare entries. The President Andrew Johnson Memorial Association, a volunteer organization that assists the museums on the Tusculum campus, provides financial support for the events.

Students in grades 6-8 from Baileyton, Chuckey-Doak Middle, Glenwood, McDonald, Ottway schools participated in the Regional History Day. "It is wonderful to see the students fully able to go through the whole circle of learning," said Amanda Waits, a teacher in the Greene County School System's Gifted program. Linda Hensley, also a teacher in County Schools' Gifted program, said, "National History Day is a college level activity for the students, who go through a process to create a quality project that includes researching the topic and creating a college-level MLS bibliography page. Once they find their information they must do higher level thinking to analyze and synthesize that information down to what they need for their project and most importantly, form their own conclusions." Hensley, Waits, and Christine Ingram were recognized for their support of History Day and efforts to help the participating students during the award program.

This year's Regional History Day has grown to include high school students for the first time. Cindy Lucas, associate director of the department and director of the Doak House Museum, worked with high school students, guiding them through the process of creating an exhibit. The students are in the Upward Bound program, a part of the federally funded TRIO programs for middle school through college students at Tusculum. These students were from Greeneville and Cocke County.

"The Upward Bound Program at Tusculum College was proud to be represented at the Regional History Day competition by Samuel Black and Jeremy Lewellyn of Cosby High School and Cody Neas of Greeneville High School," said Kim Blair, counseling specialist for Upward Bound. "Upward Bound is very proud of these students who took the time and effort to complete and enter these wonderful projects."

Regional History Day for the students included not only being interviewed by the judges about their projects but also a visit to the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library on campus. There, they participated in a team-building activity and learned more about the history day theme, "Taking A Stand in History" from storyteller Larry Kelley, a staff member of the Doak House Museum. After lunch in the college's cafeteria, the students were treated to a performance of Civil War-era tunes by the musical group, Half Runners, a trio of East Tennessee State University students. The group members also told the students about the history of some of the music and their instruments, the banjo, fiddle, and guitar in their performance prior to the announcement of the winners.

Winners from the Regional History Day competition as well as the Mosheim event are eligible to advance to the district contest in March in Knoxville. Winners on the district level go to the state competition, and those winners advance to the national event, held in May on the campus of the University of Maryland. Mosheim has had students advance to the national level for the past four years with performances, and students from last year's Regional History Day advanced to the state level competition.